Tourism spending increased in 2012

SARAH LOWERY

Staff Writer

Lincoln County saw a boost in visitor spending for 2012, according to figures released last week as part of an annual statewide study.

Commissioned by the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development and conducted by the U.S. Travel Association, the analysis uses sales and tax-revenue data, as well as employment figures, to determine the overall impact of visitor spending throughout the state.

All 100 of North Carolina’s counties experienced a hike in tourism numbers, with Lincoln County ranking 57 on that list with an economic impact that reached $47.8 million, a 5.2 percent increase from the previous year.

This helped support a $7.4 million payroll, for more than 360 jobs, related to the travel and tourism industry in the county and resulted in local tax receipts totaling almost $1.4 million.

Statewide, the figures reveal that domestic visitors to and within North Carolina spent a record $19.4 billion in 2012, an increase of 5 percent from 2011, according to a press release from Gov. Pat McCrory’s office.

State tax receipts as a result of visitor spending neared $1 billion in 2012, while local tax revenues directly resulting from tourism dollars totaled more than $579 million. Visitor expenditures directly generated 193,610 jobs and more than $4.3 billion in payroll income within North Carolina in 2012, the release said.